1. Field of the Invention
The invention is concerned with the field of devices and methods that provide an appearance of longer or thicker hair. More specifically, the invention is concerned with a hair attachment comprised of natural or synthetic hair that is releasably attached directly to hair of a wearer in order to provide the wearer with an appearance of highlighted and or longer and or thicker hair, without causing any tension to the wearer's scalp and or hair.
It is a common desire among many people to acquire hair that is longer and thicker than that which they posses for a variety of reasons, such as self esteem and satisfaction, quickly changing fashion styles, and the like. For example, short hair, which is in fashion for a period of time, may quickly be replaced as current fashion with longer fuller hairstyles. In another example, bangs worn on a forehead may be in fashion for the winter and by the summer this style may be quickly replaced by another style. As hair grows at a rate of approximately less than one inch per month, many people find that it is exceedingly difficult to acquire a contemporary hairstyle in a reasonable time. Even when someone possesses hair of substantial length, the hair may lack thickness or overall volume to achieve a desirable hairstyle. People may also want to add highlights to their hair without having to cause damage to their hair.
Various devices and techniques are available in the prior art and in the marketplace that attempt to satisfy a need and desire for longer and thicker hair. A common well known device is a wig. Although wigs provide a quick and simple means to achieve longer hair, they do not present a fully natural appearance, a condition that leads to their recognition when they are being worn. More recently, a variety of more natural hair enhancement techniques have become popular with a variety of users. These consist of hair weaves, hair extensions, hair braiding and the like, whereby natural or synthetic hair is attached to a scalp of existing hair of a wearer by a variety of techniques in order to provide an appearance of longer, thicker hair without a noticeable artifice of a wig. These techniques and systems, which overcome obvious disadvantage of a wig, also suffer from several drawbacks as they are relatively expensive and time consuming to acquire and frequently discomfort the wearer during application, as well as possibly being difficult to maintain.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous designs, devices, and methods for lengthening and enhancement have been provided in the prior art. Even though these designs may be suitable for specific individual purposes to which they are addressed, they would not be suitable for purposes of the invention as they involve relatively elaborate and time consuming techniques and methods as referenced earlier. These techniques are exemplified by: U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,745, Hair Extension Process, issued to Cheh on Dec. 17, 1991; U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,867, Process for Extending Human Hair, issued to Barrington on Apr. 28, 1999; U.S. Pat. No. 5,868,145, Hair Extension and Thickening process, issued to Spann on Feb. 9, 1999; U.S. Pat. No. 5,881,737, Method of Attaching A Hair Weft To The Hair Of A Wearer, issued to Nelson on Mar. 16, 1999; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,405,736, Method of Using A Self Adhesive Hair Extension, issued to Townsend on Jun. 18, 2002, which discloses a hair attachment device designed to provide an appearance of longer, thicker, and fuller hair. The attachment device consists of a quantity of natural or synthetic human hair that is sewn to a rectangular shaped, self-adhesive tape having a removable back, which is applied to a scalp or hair of a wearer in a releasably engageable manner. While a hair attachment is relatively simple to apply, the self-adhesive tape provides a less than adequate means to secure ends of strands of natural or synthetic hair, which can become prematurely separated from the self-adhesive tape and become unusable in the future.
As such, it may be appreciated that there is a continuing need for a new and improved method and device for providing an appearance of longer and thicker hair in a manner that is relatively simple and inexpensive to achieve. In these respects, the present invention substantially departs from conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus that substantially fulfills this need. Additionally, the aforementioned patents and commercial techniques do not suggest the present inventive combination of component elements arranged and configured as disclosed herein.
The present invention achieves its intended purposes, objects, and advantages through a new, useful and unobvious combination of method steps and component elements, with use of a minimum number of functioning parts, at a reasonable cost to manufacture, and with use of readily available materials.